sacred sea thalassotherapy

I had my Sacred Sea Thalassotherapy treatment this afternoon. It started with an introduction to my Sacred Sea guy, Shadow, a cute-looking young guy with a soul patch and ginger-coloured hair. After my heated foot soak (I chose a different scent this time, called "Calming"), Shadow gave me a Salt Glow massage using a mixture consisting of salt, epsom salts, my chosen essential oil, and massage cream. I had one towel strategically-placed over my bum when I lay on my stomach, then also a strategically-placed towel on my chest when I turned over. It was heavenly and utterly relaxing. Nothing like having a nice-looking young man rub salt into one's butt to put things in perspective. I'm not an exhibitionist, but I've learned how to let go of most of my prudish "AUGH DON'T LOOK AT MY BULGES" impulses during a massage. Defeats the purpose of the massage otherwise, doesn't it?





After my Salt Glow, I was led to a mega-tub jacuzzi thingy that looked more like some kind of rocket ship than a bathtub, with a zillion dials and levers and handles. Shadow gave me copious instructions about what to do if I got faint or too hot or claustrophobic. After I got in the bath, he dimmed the lights in the room and lit several candles. He had already added some kind of herbal seaweedy stuff that foamed up as 144 jets of water massaged my body. It was -wonderful-. After the bath, I took a shower to rinse off the last of the Salt Glow stuff and the seaweedy stuff, then wrapped myself in my terrycloth bathrobe. Shadow led me outside on the private patio while he cleaned up the room, and brought me a cup of Aveda Peppermint-Licorice herbal tea while I listened to the ocean and dozed on and off.





After about ten minutes, I was taken back to the room, which had magically turned into a massage room instead of a uber-tub room. After the usual strategic placing of towels, etc., Shadow dribbled hot scented oils all over my body and gave me a complete massage. He was even better than Dean from yesterday. When he was finished, he wrapped me in warm towels mummy-style, and a reflective crinkly blanket over top to keep in the heat. He left me in the room for about 10-15 minutes, and I dozed off again.


Time for another brief shower, and then back on the table for a final rubdown with a lighter oil, this time eucalyptus and leaving my skin tingling. Mmmmm. This was the best spa treatment I've had by far, ever.


By the time I was finished, Jeff was already having his massage. Jeff's not really a massage person, but he said he really enjoyed himself today, so much that he's been convinced to book a Hot Stones Massage on Wednesday. He'll have Angela, my reflexology person from yesterday.





After dinner, Jeff and I went for an evening stroll on the beach. Saw more starfish, anemones, and a tiny crab in one of the tidepools. Some of the residents had set up small bonfires along the length of the beach. Interesting to see that there is pretty much ZERO garbage along the beach (no cigarette butts, broken glass, paper garbage, etc.). Either people are extraordinarily conscious of cleaning up after themselves here, or the tide does the cleaning up for them. :-)


Tomorrow, we're off early in the morning to visit Hot Springs Cove, a trip that involves a boat ride and a short hike.


Today's Blatherpics


- Each night when we return to our room, Jeff and I find that the housekeeping staff has turned down the covers and put out our bathrobes. Sometimes there is also a basket of fresh fruit. Tonight we found our robes spread out on the bed in the shape of a heart. :-)


- Sign at the top of the path to the beach.


- Barnacles I saw on my beach walk this morning.


- Barnacle appetizer at dinner tonight (!). Looks pretty gross, if you ask me. Interesting to try (you also break open the barnacle to eat the insides), but a bit too rubbery for my liking.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Do you consider yourself a somewhat picky eater?

wickaninnish day one

August 25th, 2001


Jeff and I have already decided to come back to the Wickaninnish Inn near Tofino, B.C., for our 15th wedding anniversary. We originally found the Inn while searching online for relaxing-sounding resorts with beautiful scenery. The Wickannish certainly fits the bill. Our room (as do all rooms) have a view of the ocean. We have a gas fireplace, a small patio, a jacuzzi, microwave, bar fridge. Amenities include a basket of fruit, samples from the Spa's Aveda line, including Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner and Soothing Aqua Therapy Bath Salts, and handmade lavender and tea rose soaps.


This morning I woke early and spent an hour out on the patio wrapped in a thick terrycloth robe (provided by the Wickaninnish) and a big Hudson's Bay blanket I found in the closet, reading my novel and watching the ocean waves break on the rocks. Not a bad way to start the day. We had breakfast in the Pointe Restaurant downstairs: omelets with asiago cheese, spinach, and scallops, with glasses of freshly-made blackcurrant-orange juice.





After breakfast, we took a long walk on the beach. Low tide leaves all sorts of interesting things behind to examine in the sand and in the tidepools, including starfish, barnacle-encrusted mussels, sea anemone, and acorn barnacles. The water is cold, but some brave souls (mainly kids) can be seen wading knee-deep into the waves. Surfers wore bodysuits to keep warm in the water.


After our walk, it's time for the first of my spa appointments. I wander down one floor to the Ancient Cedars Spa. A relaxed-looking receptionist asks me if I'd like lemon water or herbal tea while I wait for Dean, my massage guy. I accept some water and flip through spa magazines on a couch by the fireplace. Dean is a cheerful and rather good-looking 30ish guy in a ponytail. After filling out a basic "do you have any injuries or things we should know about" form, he has me sit at a nearby table and choose an essential oil fragrance. I sniff about ten kinds; if I find them all starting to smell the same, Dean tells me, I should sniff a bowl of vanilla beans to help clear my sense of smell. In the women's changeroom, I get undressed and put on a terrycloth robe and rubber flipflops (no paper slippers!). Dean then takes me outside in the garden area to soak my feet in a basin of hot water scented with my essential oil of choice (a lemon-mint-orange concoction called Invigorating) and with marbles in the bottom.





After ten minutes or so, he kneels beside me and dries my feet off before taking me to a treatment room for my massage (a nice perk, that :-)). And a fine massage it is, too! My favourite kind of massage is the type that borders on, but does not delve too deeply into, pain. If I don't feel like punching the masseur/masseuse at least once, then I feel ripped off. I did not punch Dean but came close several times, so am highly satisfied. At the end of the hour, Dean guides me and my wobbly self to the waiting room again to wait for Angela, who will give me my reflexology treatment.


I never really understood what reflexology was. When I asked Angela, she said something about it being a treatment that "reflexed" (her word) uric acid up from one's feet (where it apparently accumulated, causing stress) back up to where it belonged. Hm. It turned out to basically be a light foot massage of sorts that involved a lot of slow movements and pressure points. I probably would not opt to have it again, though I do admit feeling so relaxed that I fell asleep at least once. I vaguely recall Angela breaking up the massage with activities like spraying scented water above my face, shaking a rain stick above my head (I would have laughed if I hadn't been feeling so dozey), putting a drop of eucalytus oil on my forehead.


I did feel very kindly toward Angela by the end, however, because I was so relaxed and because she had asked me, when she found out I lived in Toronto, whether I was a student at the university there. :-)





After I finish my Blathering, I will probably take a nap. Jeff is out on the patio of our room, reading the paper. We have both agreed that this is the most relaxing holiday we have ever spent together.


The flight to Vancouver on Thursday was uneventful except for the fact that the Air Canada plane seemed to be disturbingly poor shape, at least from the inside. My reading light and others kept turning on and off at random intervals, making reading impossible. They were short of headsets (fortunately I had my noise-cancelling headphones with me) though they did offer free drinks to anyone who -didn't- take a headset. Several seats were broken so that they could not pulled into the upright position. The inflight staff, however, were great and also seemed to be as unhappy about the state of the aircraft as we were...they were enthusiastically encouraging people to fill out comment forms to give to management.





Jeff and I rented a car and drove from Vancouver to the island. Taking the ferry was pretty painless. We parked our car on the ferry, then went upstairs to snack, read, snooze, and walk around on deck during the two-hour ferry ride. When we reached the other side, everyone got in their cars and we all drove off.


A TON of gorgeous scenery on Vancouver Island. We also checked out Cathedral Grove, an area with incredibly tall Douglas Firs...reminds me somewhat of the redwoods I saw in California a while back. Lots of rain, too, but apparently that's the norm right now in and near Vancouver.


Jeff and I don't care...we've both brought tons of reading material and have ambitious napping plans.


Speaking of naps, I think it's time for one now... :-)





Today's Blatherpics


- A view of our room upon arrival at the Wickaninnish Inn, with a view of the ocean. On the mantelpiece is a pair of Bushnell binoculars (for watching the surf or bald eagles), candle and matches, several books about local sights and wildlife as well as a copy of "The Perfect Storm", a guestbook.


- View of our sink and jacuzzi area. Window looks out on our balcony area, which in turn looks out onto the ocean.


- Starfish and an anemone we came across during our walk on the beach this morning.


- Surprise free dessert last night. The chef had painted an elaborate drawing of a humming bird in different icings/sauces, with "Happy Anniversary" written across the top and bottom. Above the hummingbird picture were two exquisite chocolate truffle cakes, a small piece of dark chocolate shaped like a honeycomb fragment, a wispy shaving of white chocolate. Yum.


- A "palate cleansing" dish between courses at our dinner last night: Saskatoon Berry Ice served in a beautiful dish of ice imbedded with dried flowers and berries.


- Jeff and me on the ferry from the mainland to Nanaimo.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Have you ever had a professional massage?

weddings

I feel almost guilty when I tell people I enjoyed my wedding. So many of the married women I know say they were just glad when their weddings were over.


My mom-in-law was SO great throughout; I experienced none of the in-law wedding planning horror stories that I've heard about. We agreed on everything, and had fun as we plunged into wedding prep. We decided to hire a wedding coordinator (a friend of the family) who was fantastic, and that also made a huge difference. Unlike some other grooms-to-be, Jeff wanted to be closely involved in all wedding plans. Our families got along, there were no major conflicts or disagreements.


Yes, I know I was unusually lucky. :-)





My wedding dress cost about $250...it was a display sample at Creeds (an upscale clothing shop in Toronto, now defunct); a drycleaner got rid of a faint coffee stain near the hem. I loved my dress. :-) I made my own headpiece using materials I found in Lewiscraft. Jeff designed and printed the wedding invitations, which I illustrated with watercolours. I did my own hair (i.e. I brushed it). My wedding bouquet contained a silk rose which I had made from a piece of my mom's old wedding dress. (How I wish she could have been at the wedding to see it.)


We hired Quartetto Gelato to play during the wedding ceremony. They weren't very well known back then; we first them at a small pub/restaurant out in the country. Now they're touring Canada, Mexico, U.S. and Japan (sadly, we'll be a few weeks too early to attend their concert in Tokyo).





I remember being really nervous for the actual ceremony. We purposely kept the ceremony brief, and also decided to face our friends and family rather than turn away as is custom. No receiving line...we chose to visit each table near the end of dinner, instead.


It was a wonderful day, and I had an incredible amount of fun. I still can't believe it all happened ten years ago (ten years ago tomorrow, in fact). Last night I kept showing Jeff old photos and pages from the wedding scrapbook I put together back then. He was patient with me despite the fact that he was frantically trying to finish packing.


Jeff and I have shared many joys and sorrows over the years. We've each made our own mistakes; it's a learning process for both of us. But in the end, we're always there for each other. I feel very lucky to have such a friend. :-)





Other news:


Happy Anniversary to the Boreans, whose 15th wedding anniversary is today!


Air Canada called about an hour ago to tell us that our flight tonight is cancelled. Fortunately there are seats available on an earlier flight, so Jeff and I are still leaving for Vancouver today. Staying at the Vancouver Hilton tonight, then renting a car and taking a ferry to the island. My plan is to keep Blathering mostly every day, with photos (taking my digital camera, of course!).


Packing was somewhat of a challenge. Apparently it's cool in Tofino (about 15-17 degrees Celsius), hot in Tokyo (about 32 degrees Celsius). Jeff and I have both found, however, that the biggest challenge is deciding what books to bring. We both plan to do a lot of reading at the Wickaninnish Inn and during our long plane flights. Neither of us can stand the idea of running out of solid (i.e. books in which we can lose ourselves for hours at a time, rather than just a magazine) reading material.


Bill Sutton posted some useful advice re: long plane flights and jet lag in Blatherchat. I've added this info to my Blathering on long plane flights. Thanks, Bill! Interesting how some of these Blatherings are turning into mini-resources of their own. I am resisting the urge to turn any of these ideas into a full-blown online resource/community. Better to turn them into books and magazine articles, I think. :-)


I'm SO excited about this trip, and am actually glad that our flight was cancelled because it gave us the opportunity to rebook on an earlier flight. I've been packing for two weeks! Jeff thinks I'm mad but humours me.


I'll Blather again in Vancouver...


Today's Blatherpics


- Picture from our wedding on August 24th, 1991, taken by Jeff Kesner ("jok" in Blatherchat); it's my favourite of all that were taken, including the professional shots. Each guest was given a handful of flower petals to throw at us just after the ceremony. I think this photo was taken just after the wedding party threw their petals.


- Wedding tent. The cake was decorated with fresh flowers (we also had edible flowers on the reception menu).


- Nuptial News, a newsletter I started up before the wedding to keep the wedding party and family informed about updates in the plans as well has to help everyone get to know each other better. As I've mentioned in a previous Blathering, I've always had the editor bug in me. :-)

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Are you or have you been married?

ladybug days

Woohoo, we leave on our 10th wedding anniversary trip tomorrow!


Went to King's Garden last night with Scott Murray. Our server (one of the assistant managers, I believe) thought I was Chinese and offered us selections from the "real" menu. So we had a VERY yummy soup (he wasn't sure what it was called in English, so I asked him to write down the name so we could order it again sometime, see below), steamed eel and melon, chicken and pineapple dish, fried rice with shrimp. It was all delicious, though the eel had too many bones for me to be likely to order again. We went to Second Cup for coffee with Parki afterwards.





A while back, you may have heard about the aphid swarms in Toronto. Well, now it's ladybugs! There were a bunch of them on the condo window as Jeff and I went out for dinner last night. I like ladybugs more than aphids. I suspect that, like the aphids, the ladybug increase is due to the recent heat wave.


Jeff is hooked on a PC game called Bridge Builder. It's free, it's simple, it's incredibly addictive. The goal is to design a bridge for the least amount of money that will support a train without collapsing.





Today's Blatherpics


- I took this photo on the Dingle Peninsula overlooking Brandon Bay in Ireland, just after Jeff proposed to me in June, 1990. We were having a picnic on a sunny hillside dotted with foxglove and daffodils, sheep grazing in a nearby field. Near the end of the meal, Jeff pulled out what looked like a small silver bell. I thought, very nice, but what is it? and then he said, "Open it." Inside was a ring. :-)


- I asked the waiter last night to write down the name of a Chinese soup he had recommended, so I could order it again. If any of you out there can read it, I'd love to know the English equivalent.


- The programs I designed and made for our wedding. I hand-painted a watercolour design on each individual program, as well as doing the calligraphy. In retrospect, I realize that I must have been out of my mind to create about 110 programs by hand. I was much more craft-oriented back when we lived out in the country, and also hadn't yet gotten hooked on the Internet. :-)


- Our wedding site. We used to live out in the country, and decided to have our wedding ceremony across the pond beneath willow trees. It rained very early in the morning, but cleared up into a gorgeous day.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Do you consider yourself a shy person?

trip tech prep

I am so excited about our upcoming trip that my head might explode. Seriously.


Our time at the Wickaninnish Inn promises to be completely relaxing downtime. I have already signed up for several spa treatments, including the Inn's signature treatment, Sacred Sea Thalassotherapy.


Then I get to visit Japan for the first time AND see our friend Alison again!


I am taking my laptop on my travels, and plan to keep posting to Blatherings whenever I can. This shouldn't be a problem in Vancouver, but Japan might be trickier. A friend in Japan is kindly allowing me to use his account access while I'm there, however, so if we can figure out how to do that, it should be fine. My dad says that some public phones have phone jacks for laptops. I had briefly considered signing up temporarily with an ISP in Japan. In the worst case, I can hunt down some Internet cafes in Tokyo. :-)





Here are some useful links I've found while researching:


Laptop Travel: lots of tips for laptop travelers, products, and services.


Traveling with a Laptop Computer: section of TravelDirt.com.


Roadnews.com: "Tips and Tricks For The Computer Equipped Traveler".


In-flight laptop services by airline: includes a listing of power and data options. It looks like Jeff and I will only have power outlet availability on our flight back home (which is on an Airbus A340-300). Doesn't look like Boeing 747s or 767s have that option, at least on Air Canada. The flight home is the longest, however (about 12 hours), so at least this means we can watch DVDs on my laptop.


I've had fun doing extra research about our flights, and have even found the in-flight movie selection: "Shrek" (on our Toronto to Vancouver flight, yay), "Spy Kids", "Bullets Over Broadway", "What Women Want" (Vancouver to Tokyo), "Heartbreakers", "The Natural", "Sweet November" (Tokyo to Toronto). I've looked up our seat locations on Travelocity's seat plans for each flight.





Other tech-prep I've been doing:


-- Adding Japan In Your Palm to my Avantgo channels.


-- Downloaded Abroad! for my Palm. I found out about this application from a travel site; its offerings include a currency conversion, world clock, unit conversion, and country info database. I was dubious when I checked out the programmer's homepage, which looked sort of amateurish with broken English text. I was amused by a supposed quote from Claudia Shiffer saying that she loved the program. On a whim, I clicked through to the link...and found that Claudia Shiffer really DID say that she loved the program! ZDNet also chose it as the best travel app for the Palm. You can download an up-to-date currency database. This program is shareware ($20).


-- Using the "Personalized bookmarks" feature in My Yahoo to keep my bookmarks accessible even if I'm using an Internet cafe. You can also store files in the "My Briefcase" area, and specify which files are public and private. And if it turns out that I can't access my electricpenguin.com e-mail at all, I'll still have my yahoo account (debbieohi@yahoo.com), which I can access through any browser.


Today's Blatherpics


- Jeff cutting Parki's hair. He started shaving it, but the razor ran out of power. Prep for the hiking trip. I think Parki's expression in this photo is wonderfully contemplative, don't you? Jeff's head has already been shaved in this picture.


- Parki shaving Jeff's head. Jeff later complained about the moire patterns Parki left on one side. I found the whole process highly amusing.


- Annie, in Algonquin Park.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Have you ever smuggled anything into your country? (not declaring something you bought when you returned from visiting another country...this includes not declaring gifts you received and souvenirs).